Australia One of World’s Largest Regions for Mergers and Acquisitions

Simon Herrmann

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Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) globally are projected to be even higher than last year, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes Australia. “While 2014 was a bumper year for recovery in global M&A markets, 2015 has started strongly and is on track to be even bigger, with Australia one of the strongest regions," Intralinks spokesperson Philip Whitchelo said. "We are off to a flying start". In the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, the value of announced deals in the first quarter of 2015 was up more than 50 per cent for the year up to the March quarter. In Australia, the Intralinks’ Deal Flow Predictor released on Friday has noticed a 14 per cent increase in M&As over the past year.

M&A activity was sluggish following the global financial crisis, but it posted its strongest year in 2014. Analysts are now predicting that the rise in M&A activity will be significantly stronger this year. "Overall, total Australian M&A activity for 2015 looks likely to be up on 2014," said Jonathon Mant, UBS head of M&A. Many of the new M&A activity has happened in the infrastructure, real estate and technology sectors as Australia attempts to shift away from its mining boom. One of the most significant trends found in Intralinks’ Deal Flow Predictor in Australia was the 400 per cent increase in the level of due diligence being done on outbound M&A deals in 1Q2015 compared to the previous corresponding period. Mr. Mant said that although there was strong growth in local clients wanting advice on ongoing M&A deals, M&A activity would likely be impacted more by other factors. "While we're seeing ongoing interest in geographic expansion and diversification among many Australian clients, I expect total M&A activity this year will be driven to a greater extent by inbound M&A, demergers and domestic activity,” he said.

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Simon is a financial analyst at independent research firm Wise-owl specialised in small-mid cap growth opportunities and ethical investment opportunities. Simon's aim is to disrupt the cliché approach to investment decision making as he believes that socially and environmentally responsible behaviour is a necessity to long-term wealth creation. Simon has a deep fundamental understanding of the global financial landscape and has compiled 300+ research reports, valuations and corporate appraisals. Simon is commonly featured in major media outlets and his research is published weekly in The Australian.

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